Acceptance
by celtic7irish
Summary: Emotions hurt, and even he knew that if he released all the hurt and fear inside, he might never be able to cage it back up. Zero x Kaname.


"Sulking again, Kiryu-kun?" the vaguely amused inquiry drew a glare from the silver-haired boy sitting on the floor, his back leaning against his bed. One leg was extended out in front of him, the other bent upwards, so that his right arm rested on it. In his left hand was an open container of blood capsules, the little pills scattered across the floor.

Kaname moved away from his position in the doorway, uncrossing his arms as he crossed the room to stand in front of the Level E. "You know full well that your body rejects the blood capsules. Why do you continue to insist on taking them?" His rebuke garnered no further response. Zero wasn't in the mood to deal with the pureblood right now. Besides, shouldn't he be with Yuuki right now?

Speaking of Yuuki, Zero realized that he hadn't seen the vampire girl in a while. It had been at least four days. Bitterly, he wondered if Kaname and Yuuki had finally chosen a marriage date. Or didn't vampires have marriages among them? Did they just take a mate, and that was that?

Not that it really mattered either way. Yuuki, the girl he remembered so fondly, was lost to him forever. She was a vampire now, born into a new life and belonging to a world entirely different from his. She was a pureblood, while he was just a Level E, a human turned into a monster by a vampire like the one standing before him now, staring down at him indifferently.

Realizing that Kaname had no intentions of going away until he answered him, Zero scowled. "I'm not sulking!" Kaname snorted, obviously not believing him, and Zero snapped, "Just go away! Or did you want to give me a new order?" he demanded, his face growing angry as he thought about the ease with which this pureblood could order him around. Perhaps Yuuki wanted to go on a jaunt across the country, and he was to follow her like an obedient puppy.

"Yuuki just wanted to say goodbye. She came to find you earlier, but apparently, you weren't in any mood to bother with her." The rebuke was clear in Kaname's tone, but Zero didn't care. He was tempted to reply that at least she knew how to respect a person's desire to be left alone, but he was too focused on the first piece of information. _Yuuki just wanted to say goodbye_.

He blinked, trying to bring his scattered thoughts into some semblance of order. "Yuuki left?" he asked. "Where? When is she coming back?" The questions tore themselves free from his throat, and he hated himself for asking. Yuuki was a pureblood vampire. He hated vampires. They had taken everything from him; his family, his humanity, and now the only girl that he had ever truly loved.

Kaname sighed, one slender hand reaching up to rub across his forehead in exasperation. "You didn't even pay attention to that?" he muttered. "Just how deep in self-pity are you wallowing?" He held up a hand when Zero would retort, and the silver-haired boy subsided for a moment. "Yuuki is going to be my wife. As such, she must learn our ways. I can teach her, but I cannot teach her everything. And so, she has gone where she can learn without fear of betrayal."

Ah. So she would be back then, eventually. And then she and Kaname would be married, and they would lead the vampires, lead the council, lead the other vampire children here, lead the entire society of their people. And he, of course, would be left behind again. Abandoned by the humans, betrayed and abandoned by the vampires. It was a wonder that he wasn't dead yet, and only his twin brother's lifeblood, thrumming through his veins, kept him strong enough to survive, for the both of them.

"If that's all you had to say, then you've said it. Now go away," he murmured tiredly, exhaustion weighing him down heavily now with his depressing thoughts. He just wanted to be alone again. "_Please_." The word was spoken quietly, softly, but it was sincere, dragged up from the well of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him if he didn't keep them locked up tight. He was begging now, pleading to be left alone, and he didn't care that it was Kaname he was begging.

Still, the pureblood had never been one to listen to anybody else if it didn't suit his own purposes, so the only thing Zero's words succeeded in doing was to make Kaname walk across the room and lock the door before returning to kneel in front of Zero, who stared up at him warily, not liking the fact that Kaname was between him and the door.

"This cannot last," Kaname murmured, leaning so that his forehead was pressed against the other boy's. Zero's hand twitched and he ached to grab Bloody Rose and shoot the vampire, even as his skin crawled at the touch, forgetting to breathe as fear and hatred welled up in him, choking him.

Kaname ignored the warning signs, ignoring Zero's snarl as he continued. " Yuuki needs you, Kiryu-kun. She needs you to still be here, and be whole, when she returns." Ah, so that was what he'd been after. And here Zero thought that maybe the vampire was feeling some concern for him. Instead, he just wanted to make sure that Yuuki's "guard dog" was in good enough condition to protect her when she returned from wherever it was that she had gone.

The pureblood seemed to have read his mind, because he sighed. "Yuuki is my top priority. She must be, because of who she is, and because of the debt that I owe to her and her parents. That does not mean that I cannot be concerned for others. However, I didn't think that you'd take my concern very well, and I'm not above using whatever I have to if it will get you to drag yourself out of this pathetic state you're in," Kaname admitted. Zero frowned, reading between the lines. Kaname was worried about him, but had used Yuuki's name because he knew that Zero would do anything for the girl, regardless of his own personal feelings, or of how much she had hurt him.

Kaname frowned at Zero when his apathetic stare didn't change. Zero just couldn't bring himself to show any more emotion than this. Emotions hurt, and even he knew that if he released all the hurt and fear inside, he might never be able to cage it back up. And so, he would sink himself into a state of apathy, would keep himself from caring about anything. He'd protect Yuuki, because he could do nothing else, and he'd hold his hatred close, so that it drowned out the other emotions, kept them locked away where they couldn't hurt him.

"What must I do to bring you back to yourself?" Kaname murmured, and Zero heard the sincerity in his voice. His question was genuine. "If it's within my power, I'll do it. I promise," he vowed.

His tone and the expression on his face, concerned and serious, kept Zero's retort from leaving his lips. He wanted to rage and howl, to demand that Kaname make him human again, or kill him. He didn't want this! None of it. He hadn't asked for it, and he would have preferred to die that day, alongside his parents, as a proud vampire hunter.

Instead, he was trapped by the instincts and desires of a Level E vampire. He wasn't human, and he wasn't vampire. He was only a monster who might one day lose his mind. Kaname's blood staved off the insanity for now, but even he knew that it was only a temporary measure.

Kaname had used him; had forced him to take his blood, in addition to Yuuki's, and turned him into a fierce guardian for the girl. There had been no concern for anybody except his fiancé at that time. Zero found it hard to believe that the emotion was there now, shining clearly in Kaname's dark eyes.

And so he thought about Kaname's offer. What did he want? Because he obviously couldn't become human again, he couldn't have Yuuki, and Kaname would not kill him as long as Yuuki was alive, because then she would be sad, and he wouldn't be able to bear it. So what did he want, if he couldn't have any of that?

"A reason," he said finally, with a resigned sigh. When Kaname looked at him, confused, he bowed his head onto his knee, his voice muffled. "Give me a reason to live, Kuran. I can't live for Yuuki anymore, and I have nobody else to live for. So give me a reason to pick myself up and go on. Can you do that?" he challenged, lifting his head to glare at the vampire in question.

Kaname blinked at him, considering for several moments, until Zero wanted to squirm under that ageless gaze. Kaname might appear to be young, but he had been an adult for a long time, longer than Zero had been alive, he was sure. Those eyes were heavy with knowledge, and they scoured Zero to his soul. He hated that feeling, as if Kaname knew everything there was to know about him, and could see things that even Zero didn't know were there.

Standing, Kaname brushed off invisible lint from his school uniform, not looking at Zero as he replied, "Perhaps. If you're willing," he murmured. Zero stared up at him in confusion; what was Kaname going on about now? Turning away from him, Kaname strode towards the door and opened it. As he left, he threw over his shoulder, "Perhaps, if you cannot live for Yuuki any longer, you could live for someone who could return your love."

With that, he was gone, leaving Zero behind, speechless and confused. What the hell had that been about? Someone who could return his love? What was that supposed to mean? True, he had loved Yuuki, but the girl had been so infatuated with Kaname Kuran – the vampire that had saved her, and her fiancé – that he hadn't stood a chance.

And he wouldn't have ever said anything to her, even if she had remained human, because he was nothing more than a Level E. It was bad enough that he had taken her blood, several times, but what would have happened when he lost his mind to the madness that all Level E succumbed to eventually? Would he have torn her apart? Or would Kaname have come to her rescue in time and destroyed him?

The latter would have been far more preferable, but Zero wasn't entirely certain that Kaname would have been fast enough to keep him from hurting Yuuki. Even now, he wasn't entirely confident in his ability to protect Yuuki Cross from her enemies, and from himself.

Tilting his head back, he leaned against the bed and closed his eyes. His thoughts were going around in circles, but throughout them, Kaname's voice repeated itself over and over. _Perhaps, if you cannot live for Yuuki any longer, you could live for someone who could return your love._

Snarling softly in frustration, Zero stood and left the room, uneasy as he left the only sanctuary he had anymore. Of course, it didn't help that he was heading straight for vampire territory, either. Nobody roamed the halls at this time of night, and Zero slipped out the front door of the dorm and headed down the pathway.

He knew instinctively that Kaname Kuran had returned to the Moon Dorm, to his little vampire followers. That Zero was going there now irked him, but the words kept nagging at him, over and over, and he found himself trying to pick them apart. The fastest way to get answers would be to demand them from Kaname, and Zero had never cared for beating around the bush. So he was going to confront Kaname, and insist that he explain his earlier words.

The door opened silently before he had finished climbing the steps, and Zero glared at Aidou as he held it open, offering Zero a mocking bow. "Kaname-san awaits you, Kiryu-kun," he murmured, and his tone held that faint edge of teasing that never failed to irritate Zero, as if the other man knew things about him, and about Kaname, that he found to be highly entertaining.

Zero didn't bother to respond to the blonde vampire, stepping into the dorm and heading straight for the steps. As always, he knew unerringly where the pureblood was. Perhaps it was because Kaname's blood ran in his veins now, or perhaps it was just because Kaname was a pureblooded vampire, and Zero was both a Level E and a vampire hunter.

His instincts and tracking ability had increased after he had partaken of both Yuuki and Kaname's blood, and he was much more aware of vampires than he had been previously, even with his background as a hunter. Pity he could no longer wield Bloody Rose. He'd have to talk to Headmaster Cross about getting him an anti-vampire weapon that he could actually use.

Reaching the door to the room where Kaname waited, Zero didn't bother to knock. Just as surely as he knew where the pureblood was, so Kaname knew where he was. At least, Zero assumed that Kaname knew where he was because of the shared blood. He didn't want to think about any other possibilities – that, perhaps, Kaname had always known where he was, even before he began to succumb to instincts of a Level E vampire.

Opening the door, he stalked inside, closing the door behind him. If he was about to say something embarrassing, he didn't need the entire dorm to hear him. Kaname was there, lounging on a bed, and Zero hesitated, just now realizing that he had walked into the pureblood's bedroom. Flushing lightly, he nonetheless stepped further inside, his body radiating aggression.

Kaname, perhaps sensing his discomfort, sat up and slid off the bed, standing as well to face Zero. Not up to playing word games, he asked bluntly, "What did you mean back there?" Kaname just raised an eyebrow, not answering, and Zero bit back a growl. They both knew exactly what he was talking about, but the vampire was still going to make him say it. "If I can't live for Yuuki, then what do you expect me to live for? Myself?" he scoffed, angry again. "I'd rather die, thanks."

Kaname smiled, baring the tip of his fangs. In a move that Zero almost didn't see, he darted forwards and wrapped his hands around Zero's upper arms, gripping them like bands of steel as he whirled the boy around and threw him onto the bed without ceremony. Reflexes kicking in, Zero rolled off the bed and hit the floor as Kaname leapt for him, and the fight was on.

Snarls erupted from between bared fangs, and flesh connected with flesh as Zero attacked Kaname, doing his best to hurt him. Kaname held his own, defending against Zero's punches and getting in a few shots of his own. If Zero had been able to stop long enough to focus, he'd realize how unusual it was for the calm and collected pureblood to be fighting like this. He had underlings for that, right?

Zero's status as a vampire gave him additional stamina, but he was still no match for Kaname, and when he wavered, the other boy took advantage of the hesitation and charged, catching him around the throat and slamming his back against the wall. Zero winced, still snarling softly, though most of his anger was gone, leaving him resigned and exhausted.

"Better?" Kaname asked, his voice a little breathless as he held Zero pinned against the wall, his hair mussed and his clothes skewed and torn. There was no princely pureblooded leader standing here. It was just Kaname Kuran, one of the monsters that still haunted Zero's dreams. Still, roughed up like this, he wasn't quite as frightening, quite as unreachable as usual.

Zero didn't answer him, but Kaname appeared satisfied regardless. Loosening his grip around Zero's throat, he instead grabbed his shoulders and gently but firmly moved him back towards the bed again, toppling him onto it and straddling him. Zero stared up at him wide-eyed, and he smiled. "I offered, didn't I? To love you?"

His body froze a moment as Kaname's earlier words took on a whole new meaning, and then he jerked, trying to throw the pureblood off of him. "Stay away from me, bastard!" he snarled, furious. "You? Love me? You've got to be kidding me! What the hell would make you think that I'd want you to love me? Or that I could ever see you as anything but one of the monsters?" He was furious, and the rage gave him renewed strength, but he was still weaker than Kaname, who had the higher position and pressed him into the bed, his grip inexorable and unyielding.

"I don't expect you to love me!" he snapped back, his eyes angry and…hurt? The emotion was gone as quickly as it had appeared, and Zero dismissed it, watching Kaname's expression smooth itself out into that infuriatingly calm face that never ceased to annoy him. "I expect nothing of you, actually, except that you protect Yuuki, and that you keep yourself alive and healthy. Yuuki will never, ever cry because of you, because if she does, I'll destroy you myself." Kaname didn't bother to hide the threat, and Zero appreciated that.

Zero snorted. "So, what then? Because you don't have Yuuki, anybody'll do? Or did you want a Level E that can't refuse you? Surely you have enough admirers among the vampires that would be willing to be your lover, even if it's just as a substitute." Kaname's grip tightened painfully on his wrists, grinding the bones together, and Zero winced.

With a sigh, Kaname loosened his hold, sitting up properly. He was still straddling Zero, but the other boy didn't buck him off, the fight having gone out of him for the moment. "I love Yuuki," Kaname admitted quietly, running slender fingers distractedly through his hair. "But not as a wife. I love her like a little sister, and she returns the feelings. We know what must be done, and we know that we must provide an heir, as well, to continue the Kuran line. Yuuki will want for nothing her entire life, save perhaps the affection of a true lover."

Zero was quiet, listening and absorbing what was said. If he was honest with himself, he could admit that he saw Yuuki in much the same light – somebody fragile to be protected and taken care of. A sweet girl with a strong passion for those she cared for and a keen sense of right and wrong. But she was too naïve and innocent to be Kaname's equal. Perhaps that was something that she'd learn, too, wherever she was now.

Zero loved Yuuki, but it was very much unrequited, and only now, with Kaname crouched over him, his body heat soaking through Zero's clothing, did he realize how much he had missed this. Not intimacy, exactly, but just being close to somebody. Since the death of his parents, and the attack that had left him battling against the loss of his human consciousness, he had pushed people away. Yuuki was the only one that had been allowed to get close, and even she was kept at a distance. She just…understood him better than most people.

He remembered, vaguely, cuddling in bed with his twin, burrowing into each other's warmth. He remembered nights in front of the fire, while it snowed outside, seated on the couch between his father's legs, resting against his chest while their mother read to them. He remembered hugs and gentle touches full of love and affection, and he found that he craved those things again.

He was a vampire, and he couldn't change that. He was too strong for the humans around him, but he refused to give up what remained of his humanity. He clung to his pride as a hunter, and as a result, he had lost far more important things. Like his chance to be with Yuuki, or to have a father figure in the Headmaster.

Kaname must have sensed his hesitation, or his dark thoughts, because he leaned down, so that his mouth was next to Zero's ear. "You're strong, Kiryu-kun. You've fought for so long, and you've always had to be so careful to control yourself, to not hurt those around you while you played at being human. Wouldn't it be nice to give up that control for a while? To let yourself go and not worry that you might hurt someone else when you do?"

The words were tempting, hypnotic, and Zero trembled, trying desperately to dredge up some anger. Anger was welcome, because it kept him safe, kept him from hurting. He bit his lower lip hard enough to make it bleed, and then suddenly, Kaname was there, lapping up the blood that welled up from the small cut. This startled Zero into action, and he flailed desperately, nearly succeeding in throwing the distracted vampire off of him.

"I like you," Kaname whispered, hands scrabbling to pin him down once more. Zero froze. What? Kaname – what? He couldn't focus, couldn't think, couldn't even react to the words as they sunk in. Kaname liked him? A part of him felt relieved that Kaname hadn't said 'love', because that would have been too much for him. He could handle Kaname liking him. Others had 'liked' him before, but it wasn't dangerous, and he could easily discourage them from pursuing anything more.

Lips sought the tender skin of his throat, and that was the only warning he received before fangs pierced through the thin layer of flesh and sunk deep into his vein. "Guh," he grunted, surprised. It had hurt, that first bite, but as Kaname sucked his blood into his mouth, he found that while it still felt odd, it didn't hurt, exactly. It was uncomfortable, feeling his blood flowing out of his body and into the mouth of a vampire, but it didn't hurt.

Zero's body sagged with relief, then; he hadn't hurt Yuuki. A part of him had always been afraid that when he took her blood, he was hurting her unbearably. Yuuki was kind, and would have never admitted to the pain she felt, if she believed that doing so would hurt Zero in turn.

And so he lay there, passively, as Kaname drank his blood, feeling old wounds begin to heal. He hadn't hurt her. That was all that mattered. It was then that he realized something. Kaname wasn't asking anything of him, nothing at all. Instead, he was offering. He was offering to teach Zero to live in a world where he was both human and vampire, hunter and prey, a world where he didn't quite fit in.

So that just left one more decision. Could he do this? Could he give in to Kaname, and submit to this? Give up his pride and finally learn to let go? He wasn't physically opposed to being courted by another male – he had noticed, a long time ago, that if he allowed himself to, he found both males and females equally appealing, though in different ways.

It was that pride of his that was going to get in the way again. That, and the fact that until just a moment ago, he had thought he hated Kaname, for taunting him, for using him, for standing by and doing nothing while he slowly lost himself. Only, he hadn't lost himself, had he? Not entirely. Kaname's blood had helped him to fight; blood that Kaname had offered to him willingly.

"Why?" he asked, the question dragged from his throat. He had to know, because not knowing would kill him, he thought. A small hum against his throat, as Kaname pulled out and lapped at the wound, his tongue making long, gentle swipes across the puncture wounds, though they were already closing on their own. "Why give me your blood?" he asked again. "Why not somebody else's?

Kaname pulled back and stared at him a moment. "Because I would never ask my people to do what I would not. Because Yuuki needed protection, and my blood was the fastest way to give you the strength you needed. And because I wanted to," he admitted softly. "I wanted my blood to run through your veins, to give you strength and power. I wanted to feel you give in to those instincts that you fight so hard against, to let loose and not worry about whether you were hurting your food source or not. You don't like me, so it was fine."

Zero heard the unspoken words. Because he hadn't liked Kaname, the other vampire had deliberately made it appear that he was forcing Zero into drinking his blood, so that he could get the nourishment his body desperately needed while pretending that he hadn't had any choice in the matter. If Kaname required it of him, and if it was for Yuuki, then he had no choice, right?

Kaname had helped him, he now realized. Had helped him get stronger, had helped him to push back the insanity a little more, had given him a form that allowed all of that chaos inside of him to have a release, so that when he reverted back, he was just Zero Kiryu again. And now, Kaname was offering to help him again. Perhaps for Yuuki's sake, or maybe for his own, but it was an offer nonetheless. The question was: could Zero accept what was being offered?

Yes, he decided with a certainty that was final. Yes, he could accept what Kaname was offering. It might not be love, but it would affection and touch and a connection with another person. For now, it was enough to start with.

Reaching up, Zero set a hand on either side of Kaname's face, cradling his face gently, his eyes open and unguarded. Kaname watched as he gave himself over to what was happening, and he smiled, his eyes bright and happy as they lay on the bed, the room around them destroyed.

It didn't take long for the clothes to be removed, and then they were rolling around on the bed, not really struggling, but more playing. After several minutes of straining against each other, Zero suddenly found himself straddling the pureblood, staring down into dark, content eyes that were slowly filling with lust and heat. Something akin to a satisfied purr rumbled in Kaname's chest, and he arched up lightly, pressing his growing arousal against Zero's hindquarters.

Zero stiffened at this, suddenly unsure. He had never been very good at submitting to other people, no matter what it was in. He had agreed to this, his brain reminded him sharply. Yes, but he hadn't considered the consequences of his acquiescence until just now.

Kaname seemed to be aware of the root of his hesitation, as always, because he wriggled, but this time, his arousal pressed safely enough against Zero's thigh. "I don't mind being the bottom now and again," he smiled up at Zero, who stared down at him, surprised. Kaname, the purebred leader of the vampires, would take the bottom role? Zero knew better than to think of it as being the woman in the relationship, because there was no doubt in his mind that Kaname was male, and that he was an alpha.

But it still didn't change things, not really. Zero still had no idea what in the hell he was supposed to do now. He didn't even masturbate on his own, having far more to worry about than something stupid like teenage hormones. Still, he supposed that Kaname could guide him. But first things first, he thought, staring down at the pale, slender, perfect body below him.

Reaching down, he laid his hands gently on Kaname's chest. The vampire gave an approving murmur at the touch, and this emboldened Zero enough to press a little more firmly, and to run his hands across Kaname's chest, mapping out the muscles he found there. His touch was gentle, but not teasing, because that would be cruel, and he wasn't interested in teasing Kaname anyhow.

His fingers found the dip at the base of Kaname's collarbone, and watched with mild fascination as the other boy swallowed, his throat moving with the action. His vampire senses easily picked out the artery running along the side of Kaname's throat, but he restrained himself, instead turning his attention back to where his fingers traced Kaname's collarbone.

Curious, he bent down until his lips could touch what his fingers had just explored. He slipped his tongue out, quickly, flicking against that pale skin, and was surprised by the array of tastes. Blood, and sweat, and soap, and another scent that all vampires seemed to have about them. There was a lighter, sweeter scent, too, that Zero couldn't place, but he just figured that it was simply Kaname's scent.

Kaname continued to mumble approvingly under him as Zero took his time exploring. Kaname's body was familiar to him, in that it was a male's body, hard and flat. But there was a sense of 'otherness', too, as if being a vampire made him different from other people. Perhaps it did. After all, Zero was different, wasn't he? Caught in the middle of two worlds, and sinking deeper into the world of monsters every day.

Below him, Kaname snorted, his hand reaching up to catch Zero's and stop his movements. Zero looked up at him, annoyed and distracted from his thoughts. "I won't break, Zero. And stop thinking so hard. It'll give you wrinkles," Kaname frowned up at him, chastising. Zero blinked, then stared down at the pureblood in disbelief. Had Kaname just made a joke?

Still, that hardly mattered, and Zero found his anger again, though he kept it in check. He could see that Kaname was trying hard not to laugh at his inexperience, so he tried to do the same and reign in his irritation at the other boy's amusement. "I know you won't break," he huffed irritably. "No more than I would if this was reversed. But I didn't think you were into pain, either." By now he was growling, his body tense and his eyes challenging again.

Kaname sighed, closing his eyes as he flopped his head back down on the bed. "Of course, I would have to be attracted to the most irritating, contradictory, emotionally unbalanced vampire in existence." Opening his eyes, he glared up at Zero accusingly. "You do realize that you have made my life miserable recently, right?" he asked, and his voice was scathing.

Zero didn't know how to answer that, so instead, he took advantage of their positions and reached down, grasping Kaname firmly and stroking, the grip rough and causing friction. Still, it served its purpose; Kaname gasped, and slowly grew aroused again, his body stirring as Zero refocused on what he had been doing.

Knowing that Kaname was nothing if not prepared, Zero took a guess and shifted upwards, so that he leaned over Kaname's head as he opened the drawer to the bedside table. He should have known better, he realized a moment later, as fangs pierced his chest, causing him to gasp and nearly lose his balance.

Scowling down at Kaname, who had his fangs buried in the meaty part of his chest, Zero moved his hand down and slipped two fingers inside the other boy, not bothering to coat them first. Kaname gasped and released him, writhing on the bed. Once he was released, Zero removed his fingers and coated them liberally with the lube before sliding them back in. This time, there was no friction, and Kaname sighed at the mild penetration.

Kaname grinned up at him, his teeth and lips coated with Zero's blood, and reached up, grabbing his erection. Zero gasped as those talented fingers slid along the length of his arousal, sending tingles through his groin and up his spine. A finger swiped across the head, and Kaname brought the finger to his lips, lapping up the precum that had dribbled onto it.

His eyes narrowed, Zero used his free hand to catch one of Kaname's wrists, pinning it above his head against the bed. After a gentle push, he released it, and picked up the other wrist, moving that one up as well. Kaname humored him and allowed him to move his hands so that they were both above his head. Zero then used his larger hand to pin both slender wrists to the bed. It would do no good if Kaname really wanted to break free, because he was the stronger of the two, but it served its purpose; Zero wanted Kaname to stop distracting him.

Once he was assured that Kaname would leave his hands where they were, for now, he went back to his previous task, one hand still moving inside of Kaname, and the other tracing his ribs. His lips and tongue explored the other boy's chest and throat, before moving to pause over his pulse point. The temptation was too great here, and Zero felt the hunger flood through him. Rejection of the blood capsules always made the hunger harder to control, and so he didn't hesitate as he sunk his own fangs into Kaname's neck, his mouth and tongue already working to draw the bittersweet blood down his throat.

Kaname moaned under him, and Zero realized that the very act of drinking the blood of another vampire was a rare intimacy, intended solely for pleasure. After all, a vampire couldn't truly provide nourishment for another of his kind. Only human blood – and perhaps animal, though Zero had never tried – seemed to suffice for that. So there was really no need to take the blood of another vampire, unless it was for power. Or sex, he now realized.

As the coppery taste filled his mouth and slid down his throat, Zero moaned, adding a third finger and sliding his free hand from Kaname's ribs to his arousal, gripping it firmly once more. It didn't take long for Kaname to arch and release, the warm liquid spilling into Zero's hand.

Pulling his fangs out of Kaname's throat, Zero imitated the pureblood's earlier actions, running his tongue across the puncture wounds. As had happened with him, the wounds healed up faster than usual, and Zero found a strange sense of satisfaction. It seemed like being a vampire had certain perks, as well.

Kaname growled up at him then, and Zero looked at him in surprise. "Whenever you're ready," the purebred huffed, and then squeezed tightly around Zero's fingers. The silver-haired vampire smiled and withdrew his fingers, smugness creeping over him as Kaname protested their absence.

Coating his erection liberally with the lubricant, Zero debated for a moment before deciding that he wanted to see Kaname's face when he invaded him. Reaching down, he hooked Kaname's knees over his shoulders, and then stretched upwards, forcing the other vampire to bend nearly in half. Not bothering to go slow – Kaname wouldn't break, after all, right? – Zero slid in all the way to the hilt.

Kaname gasped, his body buckling down instinctively around the intruder, and Zero grit his teeth, waiting for the other boy to relax. It only took a moment, before the walls that had been grasping him so tightly as to be nearly painful released him, relaxing. Zero pulled out, and thrust back in, delighting in the gasps and small cries that his actions elicited from the vampire below him.

Again and again he drove into Kaname, not bothering to be gentle, or to move slowly. Kaname's body stirred back to life, and he pushed back against Zero, meeting each of his thrusts. Kaname's face turned side to side, his hair flung across the pale sheets, covered in sweat. Their bodies covered in a sheen of moisture, the only sounds in the room were the slap of flesh on flesh, and the moans and cries of two people caught up in their own rapture.

Getting an idea, Zero pulled back and crouched on his haunches, bringing Kaname with him, so that the other man was fully seated in his lap. Ah, that changed the angle, and they both cried out at the new sensations that trembled through their bodies. Zero lifted Kaname and let him drop back down, pushing up to meet him. After repeating the motion two or three times, Kaname caught on and started moving again.

Zero stared up at Kaname, who was watching him through half-lidded eyes as they moved together, the pleasure nearly overwhelming. Zero's vampire senses were aware of everything in the room, but he was especially focused on Kaname's strong heartbeat. With a low growl, he darted his head forward, fangs seeking pale flesh and sinking into it, right over Kaname's heart.

The vampire above him cried out at the minor pain, and his own head dropped down to Zero's shoulders, his arms wrapping loosely around Zero's neck as he sunk his own fangs into Zero's throat. Again, there was that sensation, almost as if their fangs were doing the same thing as their bodies where they joined. Perhaps they were, Zero thought distractedly.

With the flood of sensation rolling over him, Zero lost control and released deep inside of Kaname, pressing up as far as he could. Kaname moaned and squirmed, his body brushing up against Zero's stomach. Zero grabbed his arousal and pumped several times, and then Kaname was coming, his body spasming around Zero as he shuddered through his own climax.

Exhausted, Zero allowed them to drop to the bed, slipping out of Kaname as he did so, and smiling a little when Kaname growled a little at the loss. Kaname reached for him, and Zero allowed himself to be taken and held, cuddled with as if he was much younger, as if he was still a child in need of assurance.

Perhaps he was, he realized uneasily, as what he had just done sunk in. He had just had sex with a vampire! And not just any vampire, but the next in line to lead the Council! Not to mention that he had topped, and had done so here in the Moon Dorm, where all the vampires lived. He wouldn't be surprised if they tried to kill him for defiling their leader like that.

Kaname chuckled, one hand stroking gently through his hair. "You needn't worry about the others. They're all in the furthest wing from here. They knew you were coming, and they could guess what for. And I won't tell them if you don't," he promised, his eyes alight with laughter.

Zero nodded in agreement before resting his head on Kaname's chest. "I still hate you, you know. I hate all vampires." The fingers kept coming through his hair, not missing a beat as Kaname remained silent, mulling Zero's words over in his mind.

"That's fine. You can hate vampires all you want, as long as it keeps you alive," Kaname murmured. "But when it gets to be too much, when your demons threaten to send you into depression again, come hunt me down. We'll spar, or argue, or make love, or do whatever it is that you need to do to work it out of your system. We'll make this work, that I promise," he vowed, his eyes as serious as Zero had ever seen them.

Zero snorted. "And when Yuuki returns?" he asked. He presumed that he'd be set aside upon her return, and that their relationship, or whatever it was, would be finished. After all, Kaname and Yuuki were to be wed and to provide an heir.

Kaname sighed, shifting so that Zero was held comfortably, lying across his chest. "When Yuuki returns, then we shall see. She sees me much in the same way that I see her, as a beloved sibling. An heir is required, but vampires live a long time. Especially purebloods such as ourselves. I think that she will not insist that I leave your side, nor that you leave mine. Yuuki is too kind for that, and I think, also, that it might bring her some relief, to have us both near her."

Zero's frown relaxed as he realized that Kaname was probably correct. If Yuuki only saw Kaname as a dear older brother, then she would perhaps feel the strain of duty too deeply if she was to be his only companion. Perhaps, if Kaname had Zero to turn to, she would not feel obligated to continue to provide for him in a more intimate sense. As for the heir, Zero was certain that it would not have to be immediately.

Pushing himself away from Kaname and out of the bed, Zero started picking up his clothes. Kaname just turned onto his side and watched him as he prepared to leave. Zero's aggression had been tamed and his depression lifted for the moment. It was sure to strike again, but Zero thought that this time, he might be able to cope a little better. And if not, he was sure that Kaname would give him a fight if he initiated it.

Dressed finally, Zero moved to the door, unlocking it and opening it up, glancing up and down the hallway. No more vampires in sight. As he left, he threw back over his shoulder, "_Now_ will you leave me alone?"

A chuckled agreement answered him, and Zero allowed himself a small smile as he walked down the hallway and out of the Moon Dorm, heading back to his room. It would be dawn soon, and he'd need to begin his Guardian duties. After all, without Yuuki, he had to work twice as hard now, he thought. Both in his duties to the school, and in his protection of those dear to Yuuki.

And to him, Zero admitted, if only to himself, watching as the sun rose above the Moon Dorm. In the window, a single silhouette stood, watching over him, and a pale hand rose in a brief farewell.


End file.
